Esapekka Lappi leads Rally Italy in Sardinia after an open exchange of blows – The last two SS of the day were cancelled
The round of the World Rally Championship (WRC) in Sardinia started with an open exchange of blows. Since special stages 8 and 9 were cancelled, Esapekka Lappi in his Toyota leads by 0.7 seconds ahead of Hyundai driver Ott Tänak. There was an open battle between the drivers, especially on the first four special stages. The last two special stages of the day were cancelled due to safety concerns on the eighth special stage, and the bunch was unable to make a reasonable progress towards special stage 9.
The first SS win of the day went to Belgian Thierry Neuville, who burned a strong time into the gravel of the Italian Mediterranean island in his Hyundai. On the second SS, Eflyn Evans in the Toyota was the fastest driver and promptly took the overall lead. Lappi was fastest on SS 3 and thus took first place. Tänak took his first SS win on SS 4, storming to the top of the rally standings.
Pierre-Louis Loubet, who is in fourth place after six SS, had a dicey moment on SS 3 when he shot into a hairpin too fast. “I braked too late and had to back off,” said the Frenchman. “It’s a long rally and I made the wrong choice on the tyres. I started with the hard tyres, which didn’t work. “
Many drivers struggling
Gus Greensmith is a distant 13th on the rally, some 2.5 minutes behind, and even behind three WRC2 drivers: Andreas Mikkelsen, Yohan Rossell and Noklai Gryazin. On SS3, he went too far out in a right-hand bend, losing 1:45 minutes as he had problems restarting his car. “The car wouldn’t start again,” he said. “As soon as I let the clutch come in, the car went out.”
Evans also had problems on SS3: he had to leave his car in electric mode at the finish, indicating problems with his Toyota. “We have to go …,” said the Welshman. On SS 4, championship leader Kalle Rovanperä was very lucky. The Finn went off the track with his rear wheels and destroyed his rear wing. However, he was able to continue the rally.
Dust and dirt got into Neuville’s car on SS4, so he had to close the vent in the roof of his Hyundai while driving. Craig Breen was also one of the drivers who did not end the first day without a mistake. The Irishman also went off the track briefly without damaging his M-Sport Ford Puma. Tänak took the lead ahead of Lappi and Loubet.
Neuville and Breen also affected
On SS 5, Neuville got into trouble. The Belgian lost 1:20 minutes as his gearbox stopped working. Lappi suffered a puncture on the left front, losing 3.7 seconds to Tänak. “It happened six kilometres from the end, but we didn’t lose that much time. I managed to keep going fast, but it is what it is.”
On SS6, Breen ran into trouble on a bridge. The Irishman almost crashed, however, the M-Sport driver managed to avoid an impact. However, he lost a lot of time: “The car stalled, which is why I had to restart it. It was very slippery and very demanding.” Meanwhile, Neuville’s team had repaired the gearbox, which is why the Belgian was able to go full throttle again.
Tänak also had problems with his gearbox. The part on his Hyundai had broken just before the end of the stage. “It felt like I had a three-wheel drive,” said the Estonian. “It wasn’t completely destroyed, but during acceleration and braking it didn’t work.” Lappi, meanwhile, countered, going 7.1 seconds faster than Tänak. The Finn is now 0.7 seconds ahead of the Estonian.
16,1 seconds separate the top 5
Loubet follows in third place, 15.1 seconds behind, while Breen is just 0.4 seconds behind the Frenchman in fourth. Dani Sordo, who has had a well-rounded rally so far, is classified fifth – 16.1 seconds behind Tänak. SS 8 was cancelled for safety reasons. As the logistics for SS 9 did not work out, this SS was also cancelled.
Classification after SS 9:
01st Esapekka Lappi (Toyota) 1:10:41.9 hours
02nd Ott Tänak (Hyundai) +0,7 seconds
03rd Pierre-Louis Loubet (M-Sport-Ford) +15,5
04 Craig Breen (M-Sport-Ford) +15,5
05 Dani Sordo (Hyundai) +16,1
06 Adrien Fourmaux (M-Sport-Ford) +30,8
07th Takomoto Katsuta (Toyota) +1:05.5 minutes
08 Kalle Rovanperä (Toyota) +1:13.1
09 Thierry Neuville (Hyundai) +2:07.2
…
12. Gus Greensemith (M-Sport-Ford) 2:40.1
